Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has launched a new emergency health project in South West Ethiopia Region, marking the beginning of a stable operational Emergency presence in the Southwest Region. The project started in 2025 following assessments that identified unmet medical needs in a region home to more than three million people and highly vulnerable to recurrent outbreaks of malaria, measles, cholera, and other infectious diseases.
The new MSF project aims at establishing an agile response capacity in a region with remote communities, particularly vulnerable during recurrent outbreaks and health emergencies. Through this intervention, MSF aims to strengthen the capacity of the local health system to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks while improving access to quality, free healthcare.
MSF currently supports Jemu and Aday Ababa Health Centers and Bachuma Primary Hospital, with a focus on strengthening referral capacity, emergency preparedness, infection prevention and control (IPC), and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
Activities are implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the local health authorities, reinforcing coordination and long-term health system resilience.
Key interventions include the establishment of an IPC committee with regular coordination meetings, the provision of hygiene materials, personal protective equipment (PPE), and waste management supplies, and major improvements to water systems through infrastructure rehabilitation and the installation of solar-powered water supply systems. At Bachuma Primary Hospital, MSF has established a six-bed isolation ward to enable the rapid and safe management of suspected infectious cases.
Emergency and referral care have also been strengthened through donations of essential medicines, medical supplies, and biomedical equipment, supporting the provision of healthcare services free of charge. These efforts are complemented by capacity building for Ministry of Health staff, support to routine health data collection, and community-level hygiene promotion and engagement activities.
“Through this new project, MSF is building a permanent presence in the Southwest Region to support communities that face repeated health emergencies and limited
access to care,” said Sayeed Aleem, MSF Emergency Coordinator in Ethiopia. “By working alongside local authorities and health staff, we aim to strengthen outbreak preparedness, improve infection prevention, and reinforce essential health services for the population.”
Overall, MSF’s support is contributing to improved outbreak preparedness, stronger infection prevention systems, and more resilient health services across the supported facilities in the South West Region.
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